Olen McGuire
01-14-2010, 07:31 AM
mac miller has put a post up on the passing of Bob Higman. I thought it would be proper to mention him under The Checkered Flag.
Bob Higman was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1995.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=229&pictureid=1510There can hardly have been a person in Midwest midget racing over the last four decades who hasn’t been helped out in some way by Bob Higman. In 1957 he had a young A.J. Foyt working on his farm in return for “rides.” Bob routinely maintained upwards of half-a-dozen midgets a year for various car owners and he was directly responsible for several USAC titles, including 1963 with Bob Wente, 1966 with Mike McGreevy and 1973 with Larry Rice. He also had runner-up rankings with Wente in 1960, 61, 62 and 64, Dave Strickland in 1970 and Dana Carter in 1975.
It is estimated that at least 12 of the 33 cars in the “Hut Hundred” one year were prepared by Bob Higman. Bob is also the only man to build a successful turbo-charged Offy midget engine.
Besides being an owner, mechanic and a member of the USAC Board of Directors Bob has been a chief mechanic at Indianapolis. He was the crew chief for the famous run for the “pole” by Jigger Sirois which was flagged off by the car owner while Higman’s back was turned. As it turned out, Sirois would have made the race and would have been the slowest car in a 500 field to sit on the pole.
From the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
Bob Higman was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1995.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=229&pictureid=1510There can hardly have been a person in Midwest midget racing over the last four decades who hasn’t been helped out in some way by Bob Higman. In 1957 he had a young A.J. Foyt working on his farm in return for “rides.” Bob routinely maintained upwards of half-a-dozen midgets a year for various car owners and he was directly responsible for several USAC titles, including 1963 with Bob Wente, 1966 with Mike McGreevy and 1973 with Larry Rice. He also had runner-up rankings with Wente in 1960, 61, 62 and 64, Dave Strickland in 1970 and Dana Carter in 1975.
It is estimated that at least 12 of the 33 cars in the “Hut Hundred” one year were prepared by Bob Higman. Bob is also the only man to build a successful turbo-charged Offy midget engine.
Besides being an owner, mechanic and a member of the USAC Board of Directors Bob has been a chief mechanic at Indianapolis. He was the crew chief for the famous run for the “pole” by Jigger Sirois which was flagged off by the car owner while Higman’s back was turned. As it turned out, Sirois would have made the race and would have been the slowest car in a 500 field to sit on the pole.
From the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.